Excercise class apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

Exercise class systems and methods may include a plurality of pieces of exercise equipment and/or a plurality of sensing systems adapted to be worn on people in the class, each piece of equipment or sensing system outputting plural exercise signals relating to exercise performance on the piece of equipment or of the person with the sensing system. A computer system may also be provided. The computer system may include at least one electronic storage device which stores the plural signals from the pieces of equipment or sensing system and at least one processor which generates an output signal containing an animation corresponding to at least two of the exercise signals from each of the pieces of equipment or sensing systems. At least one display device, visible from each of the pieces of equipment or people in the class, may receive the output signal and display the animation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Nos. 62/057,101, filed Sep. 29, 2014, 62/066,150,filed Oct. 20, 2014 and 62/132,363, filed Mar. 12, 2015. The contents ofall of these applications are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an exercise system according to an embodimentof the invention.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate an exercise system according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 5-43 illustrate games that may be implemented on an exercisesystem according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 44-52 illustrate displays of an instructor console in an exercisesystem according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 53 illustrates an overall application flow of an exercise systemaccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 54 illustrates a bicycle data flow of an exercise system accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 55 illustrates a flowchart for collecting statistics according toan embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 56 illustrates a flowchart for synchronizing devices in an exercisesystem according to the invention.

FIG. 57 illustrates a flowchart for connecting each device to a cyclingapplication in an exercise system according to the invention.

FIGS. 58-59 illustrate displays of an instructor console in an exercisesystem according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 60-66 illustrate a game for an exercise system according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 67 illustrates the relationship of displays for a second screen inan exercise system according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 68-79 illustrate images for a second display in an exercisesystems according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL EMBODIMENTS

An exercise system is disclosed appropriate for an exercise class. Theexercise class may employ any type of exercise equipment or no equipmentat all. Although embodiments described herein employ stationarybicycles, alternatively, treadmills, elliptical trainers, stair climbersor any other type of exercise equipment may be employed. Such exerciseequipment may produce exercise signals which indicate a level ofperformance on the equipment. For example, conventional stationarybicycles may produce data relating to the rotational rate at which auser is pedaling, the power being exerted by the user, distance andenergy. The rotational rate may indicate the number of revolutions in afixed period of time of the pedal or wheel of a stationary bicycle. Ifthe exercise equipment is a treadmill, then a corresponding measurementmay relate to the speed at which the belt is moving. In thisapplication, rotational rate, revolutions per minute (RPM), speed, milesper hour (MPH), etc. are considered to be the same thing. In thisapplication, power, intensity, effort, wattage, etc. are all consideredto be the same thing. When the equipment is a stationary bicycle,distance may represent a combination of rotational rate and power in away that resembles gearing on an outdoor bicycle. On a treadmill, acorresponding measure may be a combination of belt speed andinclination. The energy measure may reflect the power expended over aperiod of time. In this application, calories, energy, joules andkilojoules are considered to be the same. When a person is exercising ina class without exercise equipment, or when the person is exercising ona piece of equipment, sensors may be provided to monitor the person'sphysiology. Such sensors may include speed of motion, distance traveled,energy expended, heart rate, blood pressure, blood-oxygen content,blood-sugar content, etc.

In embodiments described herein, exercise signals corresponding to anyexercise performance measurements, such as those described above orother measurements, may be provided to a computer system which mayinclude at least one electronic storage device for storing such exercisesignals and at least one processor. The processor may generate an outputsignal which contains an animation corresponding to one or more of theexercise signals from the pieces of equipment or sensors on the classmembers. The animation may illustrate one or more games being played byparticipants in an exercise class. The output signal may be provided toat least display device, visible from the pieces of equipment or visibleto people in the class to display the animation.

FIG. 1 illustrates such an exercise system. In this embodiment,stationary bicycles 102 are provided as the pieces of exerciseequipment. Each bicycle may produce exercise signals which may includeindications of rotational rate, power, distance, and/or energy, or anyother performance measure. Such exercise signals may be transmittedwirelessly from bicycles 102 to WASP receiver 104 employing the ANT+protocol. Receiver 104 may employ Wi-Fi to transmit the exercise signalsto a computer system 106. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatany protocol(s) may be employed to transmit data from the exerciseequipment and/or sensing systems to computer system 106. Computer system106 may include at least one electronic storage device which stores, forexample, local database 108. Computer system 106 may also include atleast one processor which executes software. The software may include amodule 110 which pre-processes data received from WASP receiver 104. Ofcourse, data can be transmitted from bicycles 102 to computer system 106using any wired or wireless channel and any protocol, e.g., Bluetooth.Pre-processor 110 may decode the WASP data and map the particular datato a bicycle within the fitness studio. The mapped data may be providedto web application software module 112 and cycling processor softwaremodule 114. Although software module 112 may be written as a webapplication, module 112 may also be written as a desktop application orin any manner known to those skilled in the art. As will be explained ingreater detail below, web application module 112 may include software tobe executed on at least one processor of computer system 106 to generatean output signal based on the exercise signals which is provided fordisplay on display device 116. Alternatively, web application module 112may include a portion running on another computer system to provideimages for another display. Cycling processor module 114 may includesoftware which is execute by at least one processor of computer system106 to store the mapped data in a local database 108 on an electronicstorage device of computer system 106. The software of cycling processormodule 114 may also cause the mapped data to be queued and sent over apublic network 118 to a permanent database 120. Data from database 120may be made available to class participants using a variety ofplatforms.

The system of FIG. 1 may also include an instructor console 122. Console122 may be a smartphone, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, atablet, or any other electronic device that can communicate withcomputer system 106. The communication may occur over a wire or may bewireless, employing Wi-Fi or any other wireless protocol. Instructorconsole 122 may provide a graphic user interface to launch portions ofthe exercise class and to provide an indication of class performance.

The system of FIG. 1 may also include a second screen 124. Second screen124 may be a device personal to each class member. For example, secondscreen 124 may be a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, or any other electronic device that can communicate withcomputer system 106. Therefore, although the second screen 124 may betemporally attached to a bicycle 102, the member may remove the secondscreen 124. The communication may occur over a wire or may be wireless,employing Wi-Fi or any other wireless protocol. Second screen 124 mayprovide a software application that allows a member to register for aclass and allows a class member to see additional details of theircycling experience live in the class. A member registered for a cyclingclass may employ the application to connect to the local cyclingprocessor software module 114. The second screen 124 will show data tothe member as it is being streamed from the web application module 112.It is a personalized view of the larger game experience and synchronizedto the game play as displayed on display 116. The second screen 124 mayobtain the data it displays from the computer system 106 and notdirectly from bicycle 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates the apparatus for distributing data to classparticipants outside of the studio. Data from bicycles 102 may beprovided to WASP receivers 104 and may be stored in a database 120. Datastored in database 120 may include both detailed information concerningthe performance of each class participant as well as summary data foreach class. The summary information may be formatted by processor 206and stored in long term store 120. Data in server 202 may be provided toany digital platform 204 such as a web access device or a smartphone forviewing by a participant. The class summary data from server 202 mayalso be provided to processor 206 to generate leader board informationfor the studio, region or system wide. That data may be stored in acache 208 and then backed up to replicated instances 210 which may beprovided to various devices of digital platform 204 for display. Thedetailed individual data from each class is also reformatted byprocessor 206 and provided to cache 212. This data may also be backed upto create replicas 214 which may be provided to various devicesassociated with digital platform 204 for access by participants.

Data provided on the leaderboard may be categorized by characteristicsof the participants, such as gender and age. Information concerningcharacteristics of the participants may be obtained from data 216 andprovided to processor 206 for formatting. Processor 206 may provide thisdata to cache 208 to augment the leaderboard data.

As noted above, exercise signals from bicycles 102 may be provided toweb application module 212. Web application module 212 may generateclass activities and corresponding displays that motivate participants.Different classes may be tailored to different training protocols. Forexample, a first training protocol may focus on building endurance andstrength. A second training protocol may focus on optimizing caloricexpenditure and performance. Whether a class of the first or secondtraining protocol, web application module 112 may generate an outputsignal for display 116 which represents a series of games correspondingto the selected training protocol.

FIGS. 3 and 4 represent an alternative arrangement of an exercise systemas compared to FIGS. 1 and 2. Components in FIGS. 3 and 4 that aresimilar to components in FIGS. 1 and 2 have been numbered similarly.

In a manner similar to that illustrated in FIG. 1, data from bicycles102 is provided to cycling server 106 via WASP receivers 104. Of course,data from exercise devices or sensors may be applied to server 106 viaany wired or wireless communications. Data from cycling server 106 isemployed to drive displays on large screen 116, instructor console 122,and/or second screen 124. Data from cycling server 106 is also sent overa network 118, such as the Internet, for example, to queue 250. Queuemanager 252 parses the data in the queue 250 and pushes the data intolong term data store 120. This data includes class summary data,games/ride data, user bicycle data, etc. Queue manager 252 also adds anentry to the cache manager job queue 254 with information concerningwhat had been parsed. Cache manager 256 reads data from the job queueand also processes data from long term data store 120. Cache manager 256joins reference data and bicycle data from long term data store 120 topopulate cache 258, 212 for various data such as leader boards, timeseries data, user data, etc. Data from cache 258, 212 is provided to webapplication 260, 204 to allow post-class public access of the data.

FIG. 4 provides further details concerning cycling server 106. Data frombicycles 102 is received at processor 110. This data is provided tocycling presentation application 112 which employs the data to generatedisplays of games and other visuals. This data is employed to provideimages on large screen 116, instructor console 122 and second screen124. Data from processor 110 is also provided to queue 270. Datarecorder 272 reads data from queue 270 and stores the data in localdatabase 108. Core API 274 fetches the data necessary for a class, suchas scheduling data, reservations and user statistics. Core API 274 alsocontrols and saves ride and game information. Data manger 276 collectsbicycle data from local database 108 and information concerning classschedules, reservations and user statistics to build user summaries.That data is transmitted through network 118 to queue 250 to be handledas described above with regard to FIG. 3. The data transmitted overnetwork 118 is also applied to backend API 278 which provides from longterm data store 120 data that is necessary for in-studio cyclingadministration of classes.

Data for each member is streamed via the web application API 112. Eachlocal web application API 112 supports an authentication token toidentify the member that is verified by the backend API 278. A secondaryauthorization is done to ensure that the member requesting personalinformation is registered for a particular class. Any member that is notregistered for a class will not be able to view any data on secondscreen 124.

The web application API obtains information from two sources: livebicycle data collected by the cycling application running on computersystem 106 and long term store 120. The cycling application on computersystem 106 monitors for milestones, achievements, winners, etc. andpushes appropriate messaging to the second screen 124 as events occur.

The organization of the application running on second screen 124 isillustrated in FIG. 67. Prior to class, a member may access a portion6702 of the application relating to pre-class functionality. Forexample, the member may employ check-in module 6704 and may learn aboutthe class in class detail module 6706. Once registered for a class, theapplication on second screen 124 may issue a class alert through module6708 and may provide access to the in-class portion of the applicationat module 6710. A member is also able to view bicycle settings at module6712 and edit those settings at module 6714. Finally, a member mayreview the member's personal best statistics employing module 6716.

Portion 6718 of the application running on second screen 124 drivesdisplays on second screen 124 during class. Also, during class, module6720 may be employed to download a soundtrack.

FIGS. 5-32 provide images that the output signal from web applicationmodule 112 may cause to be displayed on display device 116 in a class ofthe first training protocol. FIGS. 68-79 illustrate employing images onsecond screen 124 during the first training protocol. As noted above, aclass of the first training protocol may be focused on buildingendurance and strength. The class may include three stages, eachrepresenting a hill climb. A recovery period may be provided betweenstages.

Once a member has registered for a class, second screen 124 may providea reminder that the class is about to start as illustrated in FIG. 68.Subsequently, second screen 124 may display the image illustrated inFIG. 69 which provides a way for a member to engage the functionality ofthe application on second screen 124, including entering a class viewfor the class that is about to start. When a member enters the classview illustrated in FIG. 70, the in-class mode may be selected. Onceselected, second screen 124 may display the image of FIG. 71. The imageindicates the members bicycle number and allows the member to viewpersonal best or bicycle settings. If the member selects personal best,an image such as in FIG. 72 may be displayed that shows past performanceof the member. If bicycle settings is selected, an image such as in FIG.73 may provide guidance for the member in adjusting the bicycle. Thedata displayed on second screen 124 may include cumulative data for theindividual member over a class.

FIG. 5 represents the image displayed by display device 116 asparticipants arrive and begin warming up. Each bicycle may berepresented by a number. As the participant begins to pedal, the circlearound the corresponding number may rotate at a rate corresponding tothe participant's rotational rate in pedaling the bicycle. The width ofthe line forming the circle may correspond to the power begin exerted bythe participant. The line may be made up of segments, with the number ofsegments decreasing and the length of each segment increasing as theexerted power increases. With a stationary bicycle, the power may berelated to the resistance setting selected by the participant. The powerthat a participant is able to generate may be dependent on aparticipant's weight. For example, it is much easier to achieve higherwatts for someone who is 250 pounds as compared to someone who is 120pounds. As a result, web application module 112 may cause the wattagerequired to thicken the line forming each circle to be different for menand women, using gender as a proxy for weight.

FIG. 6 is an overview of the class. As noted above, the class mayconsist of three stages with adjacent stages being separated by arecovery period. FIG. 6 also illustrates that the overall goal for theclass may be to cover 400 overall miles in 45 minutes as set by theinstructor on the instructor console 122. The class goal may be dynamicbased on the number of riders in the room (e.g., 12 miles per rider) andother factors. At the same time, second screen 124 may display the imageof FIG. 74 showing the individual member's energy goal for the trainingsession.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, at the beginning of the class, a warm-upanimation may be provided. The animation may be dynamic and responsiveto the exercise signals coming from the bicycles.

FIG. 8 illustrates the beginning of the first stage called“three-peaks.” This game may provide an animation of the performance ofeach individual participant in three rounds over nine minutes. Asrepresented in FIG. 8, the performance of each participant may beindicated by a rotating circle, where the rate of rotation maycorrespond to the rotational rate of the participant, the thickness ofthe line forming the circle may correspond to the power being exerted bythe participant and the distance that the circle moves along a verticalpath may correspond to the distance measurement of the participant. Thevertical path may be divided into segments, with each segmentrepresenting a fixed distance.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, as the first round begins, the circlecorresponding to each participant may be toward the bottom of the image.Already, the circle for each participant may indicate the rotationalrate and power of each participant.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, as the first round proceeds, the circle foreach participant begins to rise along a track to indicate a distancemeasurement. The distance leader may be highlighted. The second screen124 may display the image of FIG. 75 showing the individual member'spower, speed, distance and best distance in a previous round (if aprevious round has occurred).

FIG. 11 illustrates nearly the end of the first round. The round leadermay be indicated.

FIG. 12 illustrates the beginning of the second round. The circles ofall of the participants may have been returned to near the bottom of theimage. However, the track of the circle from the previous round mayremain indicating the distance measurement.

As the second round proceeds, FIG. 13 illustrates that the circlecorresponding to each participant may begin to rise along the trackcorresponding to the distance measurement in the second round. Thecenters of some of the circles may be highlighted, noting that theparticipant has a distance measurement at a pace which is at or abovethe previous round. Once a participant has bested previous rounds, thatparticipant's circle may so indicate, for example by changing color. Forexample, the participant on bicycle 20 has bested previous rounds. Asindicated in FIG. 76, second screen 124 may indicate a pace which is ator above the previous round by showing a highlighted circle.

FIG. 14 illustrates nearly the end of the second round. The leader forthe second round may be highlighted and the circles of those still onpace to hit the distance from the previous round may be highlighted. Asillustrated in FIG. 77, once a member has surpassed their previous bestround, second screen 124 may display a momentary celebration.

At the beginning on the third round, illustrated in FIG. 15, all circlesmay be returned to near the bottom of the image. A track may beindicated having a height corresponding to the best distance performancefor each participant in the first or second round.

FIG. 16 illustrates the middle of the third round. As with the previousround, the leader for the round may be indicated. Also, the circles ofthose on track to surpass their previous best round may be highlighted.

At the end of the third round, FIG. 17 illustrates an image that maydisplay the top performers (optionally distinguishing top male andfemale participants) for the three-peaks game. The performancesindicated may represent the sum of the three rounds making up thethree-peaks game. FIG. 18 illustrates an overall leader board that maybe displayed after the three-peaks game. At the same time, second screen124 may display an image such as FIG. 78 which shows the individualmember's ranking, the change in ranking since the previous round and thetotal distance traveled in the training session, including the additionto the total since the last time this screen was displayed. Thus, secondscreen 124 displays data comparing the individual member to the overallclass. The leader board may represent overall class distance performanceincluding the warm-up. An image, similar to FIG. 28, showing performancetoward the class goal may also be displayed. At the same time, secondscreen 124 may display FIG. 79 showing the individual member'scontribution to the class goal and the member's individual goal.Afterwards, an animation may be presented, similar to FIG. 7,dynamically driven by class performance, until the instructor triggersthe second stage.

FIG. 19 may provide a representation of the second stage named“avalanche.” This stage may be a 10-minute stage. For this game, theclass may be dynamically divided into two teams based on the number ofriders in the room and the placement of the bicycles within the room.Each participant may be represented by a circle as in the first game,wherein the thickness of the line forming the circle corresponds topower. Each time a rider covers 0.25 miles or the like, a circle iconwith that participant's bicycle number may drop down to the mountaincorresponding to that participant's team. The thickness of the droppingcircle indicates power at the time the rider covered the 0.25 miles.Each time that participant covers 0.25 miles or the like, another circlewith that participant's bicycle number may drop onto the mountaincorresponding to that participant's team.

FIG. 20 illustrates an image from display 116 as both teams begin tocollect circles to form their respective mountains. The idea of thisgame may be to form as many mountains as possible within the 10-minuteperiod of the game.

Second screen 124 may display individually oriented images as in theprevious stage for this and subsequent stages as well as the secondtraining protocol.

FIG. 21 illustrates an image in which Team 1 may be about to completeits first mountain. As illustrated in FIG. 22, when a team completes amountain, then a display celebrating the completion may appear ondisplay device 116. The team distance needed to complete a mountain mayvary depending on class size. The size of the circles may vary,depending on class size, to accomplish this. As illustrated in FIG. 23,completion of the first mountain by Team 1 may be represented by asmaller triangle. Team 1 then may begin to build its second mountain.

As illustrated in FIG. 24, each time a team completed a mountain, themountain may be replaced with a triangular counter and the team maycontinue to build its next mountain. In this game, as with any of theother games, in view of the intensity of this game, an instructorcontrolling the game may cause the image displayed on display device 116to change to an animation which may have an image which may beresponsive to the collective performance of participants in the class.This may also be the case with the “summit push” “tour de force” gamesdescribed with respect to FIGS. 29-32 and 60-66 below.

At the end of the game, as illustrated in FIG. 25, the team having thelargest distance measurement may be declared the winner. This game mayprovide both individual and team measurements. The number of circlesthat an individual participant contributes to each mountain remains maybe visible. At the same time, the number of mountains built by each teammay also be indicated.

As illustrated in FIG. 26, after the second game, top male and femaleperformers for each team may be celebrated. Also, as illustrated in FIG.27, the overall leader board may also be displayed showing mileageleaders accumulated over the entire class. FIG. 28 illustrates thatdistance performance toward a class goal may also be indicated.Afterwards, an animation may be presented similar to FIG. 7.

FIG. 29 represents the third stage of the class named “summit push.”This is a game in which data may be graphically represented only foreach of two teams, and not for the individual. The game may extend forten minutes, for example. As with the previous game, the class may bedynamically divided into two teams based upon the number of participantsin the room and the placement of bicycles within the room. Asillustrated in FIG. 30, as the game begins, each team may have arotating circle. The rate of rotation of the circle may correspond tothe average rotational speed of the team, and the thickness of the lineforming the circle may be representative of the average power ofparticipants on that team. A band may surround the circle and maygradually progress around the circle. The band may represent the averagedistance measurement of participants on each team.

As illustrated in FIG. 31, each time a band is completed, acongratulatory animation may be displayed. The team then may begin tobuild its next ring around the circle.

FIG. 32 illustrates the end of the third stage. As illustrated, Team 1is the winner because it has the greatest average distance as indicatedby the rings around its circle. Each ring may represent a fixed distancemeasurement, such as 0.5 miles.

As with the previous games, after the third game is completed, topperformers for the third game may be displayed and the overall leaderboard for the entire class may be displayed. An animation may also bepresented which illustrates whether or not the class collectively madeits class goal announced at the beginning of the class. Text may also beincluded that is driven by the relationship of class performance toclass goal. Afterwards, an animation may display, similar to FIG. 7, fora cool down period.

As an alternative for the third stage, a game called “tour de force” maybe played as illustrated in FIGS. 60-66. This is a game in which datamay be graphically represented only for each of three, or any othernumber of, teams, and not for the individual. The game may extend for 10minutes, for example. The class may be dynamically divided into threeteams based on the number of participants in the room and the placementof bicycles within the room. As illustrated in FIG. 60, this gameinvolves each team following along a course where progress along thecourse is indicated based on a team's average distance. FIG. 61 showsthe three teams at the beginning of the game. As with previousillustrations, the speed of rotation of each team's circle representsthe average rotational rate of each team and the thickness of the circlerepresents the average power being generated by each team.

FIG. 62 illustrates that team 1 has covered the greater distance. Once ateam's average distance covers a fixed distance, such as a mile, theaccomplishment of that team may be celebrated by changing the image,such as the color of the display. As illustrated in FIG. 63, as theteams approach the end of the track on a screen, the screen may indicatethe leading team and then slowly pan to show the next segment of trackas illustrated in FIG. 64. The scale of each track may be adjusted sothat all teams remain on the same screen.

This process may continue each time the teams cover all of the track ona screen for the 10 minutes that the game is in progress. The distancethat the tracks cover is based on how far the slowest team will cover inthe 10 minutes.

For the last fixed period of time, such as, for example, 30 seconds, thescreen changes to the home stretch as illustrated in FIG. 64. Theslowest team will be displayed on the right side of the display withfaster teams further advanced to the left. At the end of the 10 minutesallotted for the game, the team covering the most distance is declaredthe winner as illustrated in FIG. 65. Subsequently, a leaderboard may bedisplayed as in previous games, illustrating the top male and femaleparticipants for each team. As described previously, if a team consistsonly of males or females, the top two performers may be indicated on theleaderboard. Class progress to the class goal may also be illustrated.

As noted above, the class of the second training protocol may focus onoptimizing caloric expenditure and performance. This class may include 5stages of 4-6 minutes in length. Each stage may have a different highintensity interval training protocol with 2 minutes of recovery betweeneach stage. The first stage may provide an animation representingindividual performance. The third stage may provide an animation ofperformance based on partners. The fifth stage may provide an animationof performance based only on a team. The second and fourth stages maynot have games, providing an instructor more flexibility in coachingthese segments. During these segments, an abstract animation may beprovided which is responsive to the exercise signals from theparticipants of the class.

FIG. 33 shows an image on display device 116 generated by the outputsignal from web application module 112 before class begins. Each bicyclein the class may be represented as a circle. The circle may also oralternatively rotate in relation to rate of rotation. As a participant'spower increases, that participant's circle may become brighter and fillin. As noted above, a participant's ability to generate power isdependent upon the participant's weight. That is, it is much easier fora participant weighing 2501 bs. to generate higher watts than aparticipant weighing 1201 bs. As a result, the power required to lightup each circle may vary for men and women, using gender as a proxy forweight.

As illustrated in FIG. 34, as the class begins, an overview of the classmay be provided. The left side of the image on display device 116 mayindicate the overall class objective, such as burning 40,000 kilojoulesin 45 minutes. This may be adjusted dynamically based on the number ofriders in the class (e.g., 400 kilojoules per rider). The right portionof the display may graphically illustrate the stages that will make upthe class. As noted above, the class of the second training protocol mayinclude 5 stages, separated by recovery periods.

FIG. 35 illustrates an animation corresponding to an output signal fromweb application module 112, which may be displayed on display device 116during a warm-up period prior to the first stage. The abstract animationmay be responsive to the exercise signals from the class. For example,the animation may include a number of wavy lines made up of particles.As the power generated by participants increases, the lines may increasein brightness and the movement of particles making up the lines mayincrease in speed.

The first stage is named “fire up.” This game may include severalrounds. The object may be to motivate participants to push for a highlevel of power. Circles corresponding to participants may becomebrighter and fill-in as the power increases. The circles may also risebased on power. FIG. 36 shows an image from display device 116 duringthe first stage. The object may be for each participant to keep his/hercircle as high and as bright as possible during intervals which may eachbe 1 minute, for example. After each round, top male and femaleperformers, based on average power, may be displayed for that round.After each round, an abstract animation may be displayed on displaydevice 116 as illustrated in FIG. 37. This dynamic animation may bedriven by the power generated by class participants. As power increases,the animation may become brighter and movement within the animation maybecome faster.

After the first stage has finished, an image may be displayed on displaydevice 116 that may indicate the overall leaderboard for the class,based on the energy expended. The leaderboard may be divided based ongender.

After the first stage, a recovery period may be provided during which anabstract dynamic animation may be displayed, where the animation may bedynamic based on the power generated by participants in the class.

Between stages, an image may also be displayed on display device 116that indicates progress of the class toward the class goal mentionedabove.

As noted above, no game may be provided during the second stage of thisclass. Instead, throughout this stage, an abstract animation may beprovided on display device 116. The animation may be responsive to thecollective power generated by class participant. FIG. 38 illustratessuch an abstract animation. The brightness and speed of movement of theanimation may increase in response to the cumulative power generated byparticipants in the class.

At the end of the second stage, an overall leaderboard may be displayedshowing the leaders in terms of energy expended among participants overthe class to this point. Also, an image may be displayed on displaydevice 116 which indicates the progress of the class toward the classgoal.

After the second stage, a recovery period may be provided with anabstract animation, which again may be driven by the exercise signalsrelated to power generated by the participants of the class.

The third stage of this class may represent a pairs game. Eachparticipant may be paired dynamically with another participant, forexample a participant located near them. The game may run like a relayrace. The goal may be to maximize the distance measurement during thegame period. Partners may alternate back and forth between racing andresting. As illustrated in FIG. 39, a single circle may be illustratedfor each pair of participants. In FIG. 39, the image shows that one ofeach pair of bicycles (indicated by a bolded number) may be driving thecircle. The intensity of the circle may be related to the powergenerated by the active participant and the movement of the circle maybe related to the distance measurement from the active participant. Atthe end of a predetermined time, the first of each pair of riders maystop controlling the circle and the second of each pair of participantsmay begin to control the circle. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 40, theother of each pair bicycles of each pair may now control the circle. Theintensity of the circle may be related to the power generated by theactive participant. The circle for each may pair continue to move fromwhere the circle left off based on the other participant in the pair sothat the distance the circle moves may represent the distance measurefor each participant of the pair during the time that that participantis active. Once each circle reaches the top of the display, webapplication module 112 may cause the circle to reverse direction. Alabel may indicate which team is leading.

At the end of this stage, the top performing pairs may be displayedindicating the cumulative distance measure of the team. Again, theoverall leaderboard for the class up to this point may be displayedbased on cumulative energy expended. An image indicating progress towardthe class goal may also be created on display device 116.

After the third stage, a recovery period may be provided with a dynamicanimation which again may be driven by the collective power of theparticipants in the class.

The fourth stage may be similar to the second stage. No game may beprovided but an abstract animation may be displayed on display device116 which is driven by the collective power generated by participants inthe class. After the fourth stage, a class leaderboard may be displayedas well as an image illustrating progress of the class toward the classgoal. After the fourth stage, a recovery period may be provided duringwhich time an abstract animation may be displayed on display device 116that varies based upon the collective intensity riders in the room.

Stage 5 of this class is named “heat wave.” For this game, the class maybe dynamically divided into two teams. In a first portion of this stage,an abstract animation may be displayed on display device 116, driven bythe collective power exerted by the participants in the stage. The gamemay begin during the second half of the stage. As illustrated in FIG.41, web application module 112 may generate an output signal to causedisplay 116 to display an image that may include a brighter area in themiddle of the screen that fades to darker colors in opposite directionsfrom the middle portion. The image may then shift based on the averagepower being generated by each team. As illustrated in FIG. 41, as team 1exerts a higher average team power (e.g., wattage), the brighter centralarea of the image may be pushed toward team 2. The game may be played inthree rounds of fixed periods. Alternatively, the game may be playeduntil the central portion of the image has been pushed all the way toone edge. Alternatively, it may be desirable to weight the average teampower by a factor related to the distance that the central portion ofthe image has been displaced. For example, at the beginning of the game,this the weighing factor may be 1.0 for each team. As team 1 begins topush the central area of the image toward team 2, team 1's average powermay be weighted by a factor that decreases based on the distance thatteam 1 has pushed the central portion of the image towards team 2. Thatis, the further team 1 pushes the central portion of the image, the moredifficult it becomes for team 1 to push it any further. Alternatively,movement based on average team power may be less dramatic toward thebeginning of the game and may become more dramatic by the end of thegame.

After each round of this game, the winning team may be acknowledged.Display device 116 may also display the top male and female performersin terms of average power for each of the two teams. If a team includesmembers of a single gender, the top two performers may be displayed. Atthe end of the stage, the overall leaderboard may be displayed showingtop performance in total energy throughout the class. The leaders may bedivided by gender. Also at the end of the game, display device 116 mayalso display whether or not at the end of the class the class goal hasbeen achieved. After stage 5, a recovery animation may be displayed toend the class. As with previous recovery animation, the abstractanimation may be altered based on power generated by participants.

The games in either class may be played in any order. Furthermore, othergames may be substituted for those described above. An example of asubstitute game for this class is illustrated in FIGS. 42 and 43. Thisgame is played on an individual basis, and thus may be substituted forthe game of stage 1, for example. This game may use a training protocolcalled 30-20-10, where the object is to ride at a moderate intensity for30 seconds, a hard intensity for 20 seconds and a very hard intensityfor 10 seconds. Alternatively, a training protocol of three one minuteperiods of increasing rotation rate may be employed. This may berepeated a series of times, for example 5 times. Participants maycompete individually. The circle corresponding to each participant maychange in the same manner as previously described with other games inthis class. That is, as the power of each participant increases, thecircle may become more intense and fill in. For each participant, themovement of the circle in a vertical direction may be driven by theparticipant's rotational rate. Horizontal bands may mark the safe areain which the participant may peddle. As a participant reaches the topboundary, an instructor may suggest to that participant to increasehis/her power (resistance) to make it more difficult to maintain thatrotational rate. The converse may also be true when a participantreaches the lower boundary. When it is time to increase the intensity,the horizontal lines may move upwardly as illustrated in FIG. 43 ascompared to FIG. 42.

The coding for the games generated by the web application 112 may beorganized in an architecture that may be modular and expandable. Thecode may include a core module to perform functions common to all of thegames. The code unique to each game may be plugged into the applicationand call the common functions as needed.

The games described above may be implemented with one or more rounds ofeach game. Also, the games can be implemented for any number of teams.

FIGS. 44-52 provide examples of images that web application module 112may cause to be displayed on instructor console 122. As illustrated inFIG. 44, when an instructor first logs into the system to conduct aclass, the system may request the instructor to confirm the class. Asillustrated in FIG. 45, the instructor may then have an opportunity toconfirm and/or change the class to be taught. The class designation mayinclude information concerning the location and time of the class, theinstructor and whether the class is of the first training protocol(called “Build”) or of the second training protocol (called “Burn”). Webapplication module 112 may provide instructor console 122 with theopportunity to setup the stages in the class. As illustrated in FIG. 46,this may involve picking an appropriate game for each stage, picking atraining protocol for each game, setting a time for each stage and thenumber of rounds within each stage. FIG. 47 illustrates a screen whichmay be provided to instructor console 120 by web application module 112to edit stage 1. The instructor may choose which of two games to play instage 1 and the training protocol for either of the games.

Once setup is completed, and the class is about to start, webapplication module 112 may provide instructor console 122 with a displayof the room indicating all of the occupied bicycles and the names of theparticipants riding the bicycles as illustrated in FIG. 48. Theinstructor also may move participants to other bicycles and/or optparticipants out of the games (changing the nature, e.g., color, of thecircle). This display also provides a button for the instructor to startthe class.

When the instructor presses the start class button, web applicationmodule 112 may provide to instructor console 122 a screen as illustratedin FIG. 49 which may provide a summary of the class. An instructor mayshare with the class the overall class goal and the structure of stagesand warm-up/recovery periods associated with the class. Web applicationmodule 112 may then present to instructor console 122 a screenindicating a warm-up period, as illustrated in FIG. 50. At the bottom ofthe screen, the instructor may be presented with a button to allow forthe initiation of the first game.

When that button is pressed, web application module 112 may causeinstructor module 122 to display information about the first game, asillustrated in FIG. 51. This may be the information that the instructorshares with participants in the class. The button also causes thedisplay device 116 to display the games as illustrated in FIGS. 5-32.

As illustrated in FIG. 52, as the game begins, all bicycles may bearranged in sequence with a performance measurement indicated associatedwith each bicycle. Web application module 112 may cause instructorconsole 122 to display upwardly pointing arrows or downwardly pointingarrows with participants who are determined to be best or worseperforming to assist the instructor in coaching the class.

As indicated in the upper left corner of a screen during a class, theinstructor may change a class view to a rider view or a timeline view.FIG. 58 illustrates a rider view. All of the participants are displayedwith their names in a layout that reflects the studio layout.Performance values are also displayed. The buttons along the right sideallow the instructor to select to display either rank, watts, distanceor rotation rate.

When the timeline view is selected as illustrated in FIG. 59, theoverall layout of the class is displayed, along with an indication ofwhere the class is in the overall class layout.

FIGS. 53-57 provide example process flows for various elements andembodiments of the exercise system. FIG. 53 shows how data fromconnected bicycles 102 may be streamed to multiple devices during aclass. At the start of a session, pre-processor module 110 may load thefacility configuration 5305, get bicycle 102 layout for the facility5310, and get classes scheduled for the day (or other time period) 5315.At this time, data may be obtained from local database 108, permanentdatabase 120 and/or reference data 216 related to participants who haveregistered for the class and information related to the participants(e.g., gender, alias, statistics, etc.). As noted above, in some gamesthe class may be divided into teams based on bicycle placement. Loadingthe facility configuration, bicycle 102 layout, and class may allow webapplication 112 to perform the dynamic assignment of bicycles 102 toteams. Pre-processor module 110 may join the device ID and studiobicycle number for each bicycle 102 to the facility configuration 5320.A class selection may be entered 5325 via instructor console 122.Pre-processor module 110 may listen for bicycle 102 data 5330, asdescribed below in relation to FIG. 54. Web application software module112 and/or cycling processor module 114 may stream class statistics toany device subscribed using web sockets 5335, as discussed above, duringthe class. The class may be configured based on configurable protocolsand games 5340, such as the games described above, via instructorconsole 122. When the class begins 5345 via instruction from instructorconsole 122, web application software module 112 and/or cyclingprocessor module 114 may track statistics 5350 from the bicycles 102, asdescribed below in relation to FIG. 55. Pre-processor module 110 may runthrough the class configuration based on timing and send messages to webapplication software module 112 and/or cycling processor module 114 tochange views (e.g., change information being displayed) 5355, asdescribed below in relation to FIG. 56. The class may end 5360 viainstruction from instructor console 122, and web application softwaremodule 112 and/or cycling processor module 114 may send messages to allsubscribed devices using web socket 5365, as described below in relationto FIG. 57.

FIG. 54 shows how bicycle 102 data can be sent from pre-processor module110 to web application software module 112 and/or cycling processormodule 114. Pre-processor module 110 opens a connection to bicycle 102to receive bicycle 102 data 5405. Pre-processor module 110 may startlistening for data payload by event type 5410. For example, bicycles 102and/or other exercise equipment may generate various data signals whichmay be applicable in various ways depending on game type or class type,etc., as discussed above. Pre-processor module 110 may receive data frombicycle 102 by event type 5415 after a class begins. The received datamay be used for stats processing 5420, as described below in relation toFIG. 55.

FIG. 55 shows how stats can be generated for individual bicycles 102both for games and for overall class reporting. Pre-processor module 110may create a stats collection for each bicycle 102 in the facilitylayout 5505. Raw data may be received from each bicycle 102 and assignedto the stats collection associated with each respective bicycle 102 (forexample, based on bicycle ID) 5510. Current stats for each bicycle 102may be set from the received JSON payload and saved to stat object 5515.If a game is running, new stats for the game can be created 5520. Stathistory may be stored in an array 5525, and history stats can becalculated based on the amount of time between messages 5530 receivedfrom bicycle 102. Historical stat data may be used to track a user'sindividual exercise progress. Pre-processor module 110 may also check tosee if a game is running 5535 (for example, as set by instructor console122 as described above). If so, a new instance of stats may be created5540. This new instance may be reset to 0 (i.e., may not be linked tothe historical data) upon creation, so that it may be used for the gameonly. Stats can be created as a JSON object and returned to webapplication software module 112 and/or cycling processor module 114 fordisplay 5545.

FIG. 56 shows how devices listening to web application software module112 and/or cycling processor module 114 can stay in sync. Pre-processormodule 110 may receive class configuration 5605 from instructor console122, and the class may begin 5610. Based on class start time, webapplication module 112 may determine time to switch views to bedisplayed 5615. Web application module 112 and/or cycling processormodule 114 may send switch view messages to all devices listening at thedetermined time 5620. Thus, all users of all bicycles 102 in the classmay see the same information about the class or game in sync.

FIG. 57 shows how devices connect to the system and listen for data.Devices (e.g., display 116, smart phones, tablets, instructor console122, any digital devices associated with digital platform 204, etc.) cansubscribe to a web socket channel (e.g., channel “signature cycling”)5705. The subscribed devices may create an event listener for an eventtype 5710. Those event types for which a device has created an eventlistener may be processed by the device. When such events are receivedby the device, they may be processed 5715. Devices may execute codebased on device type to handle the events (e.g., display data relatingto a game or class, as discussed above) 5720.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example and notlimitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevantart(s) that various changes in form and detail can be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope. In fact, after reading theabove description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevantart(s) how to implement alternative embodiments.

In addition, it should be understood that any figures which highlightthe functionality and advantages are presented for example purposesonly. The disclosed methodology and system are each sufficientlyflexible and configurable such that they may be utilized in ways otherthan that shown.

Although the term “at least one” may often be used in the specification,claims and drawings, the terms “a”, “an”, “the”, “said”, etc. alsosignify “at least one” or “the at least one” in the specification,claims and drawings.

Finally, it is the applicant's intent that only claims that include theexpress language “means for” or “step for” be interpreted under 35U.S.C. 112(f). Claims that do not expressly include the phrase “meansfor” or “step for” are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

What is claimed is:
 1. Exercise class apparatus comprising: a pluralityof pieces of exercise equipment and/or a plurality of sensing systemsadapted to be worn on people in the class, each piece of equipment orsensing system outputting plural exercise signals relating to exerciseperformance on the piece of equipment or of the person with the sensingsystem; a computer system including: at least one electronic storagedevice which stores the plural signals from the pieces of equipment orsensing system; and at least one processor which generates an outputsignal containing an animation corresponding to at least two of theexercise signals from each of the pieces of equipment or sensingsystems; and at least one display device, visible from each of thepieces of equipment or people in the class, which receives the outputsignal and displays the animation.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe pieces of exercise equipment include a plurality of stationarybicycles.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the plural exercisesignals include signals representing two or more of revolution rate,distance, power and energy.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein theexercise signal related to distance represents a combination of rotationrate and power.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the at least oneprocessor generates the output signal to define a graphic shape for eachof the pieces of equipment or sensing system; the at least one processorcauses each graphic shape to spin at a rate related to one of theexercise signals for a corresponding piece of equipment and/or sensingsystem and move along a path based on another of the exercise signalsfrom the corresponding piece of equipment and/or sensing system.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 5 wherein: the one exercise signal indicatesrevolution rate or speed of the exercise equipment or sensing system;and the other exercise signal corresponds to distance of thecorresponding piece of exercise equipment or sensing system.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 5, wherein the thickness of a line forming thegraphic shape corresponds to a third one of the exercise signals.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 7 wherein the third exercise signal corresponds topower.
 9. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the at least one processorcauses the graphic shape to change color when a person exercising on acorresponding piece of exercise equipment and/or sensing system is ontrack to at least match a distance from a previous session.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 5 wherein the at least one processor causes theoutput signal to produce a display indicating top performers after apredetermined time.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: each piece ofequipment or person in the class is organized in one of two or moreteams; the at least one processor generates the output signal to includea first graphic shape for each of the pieces of equipment or and/orsensing systems; and the at least one processor generates the outputsignal so that the first graphic shape drops into a second graphic shapefor a corresponding team when at least one exercise signal for a userachieves a predetermined value.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11 whereinthe pieces of equipment are stationary bicycles and the at least oneexercise signal corresponds to distance of the corresponding bicycle.13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the at least one processorgenerates the output signal so that when the second graphic shape iscompleted, the at least one processor generates the output signal tocause another second graphic shape to be built from dropping firstgraphic shapes.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first graphicshape rotates in response to a second one of the exercise signals andthickness of a line forming the first graph shape corresponds to a thirdone of the exercise signals.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein: thepieces of equipment include stationary bicycles; and the second exercisesignal corresponds to rotational rate of the corresponding bicycle andthe third exercise signal corresponds to power from the correspondingbicycle.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: each piece of equipmentis organized into one of two or more teams; the at least one processorgenerates the output signal to display a first graphic shape whichrotates based on an average or a total of one of the plurality ofexercise signals from each team; and the at least one processorgenerates the output signal to cause a second graphic shape to build inresponse to an average or total of a another of the exercise signals foreach team.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein: the pieces of exerciseequipment include stationary bicycles; and the one exercise signalcorresponds to power; and the another exercise signal corresponds todistance.
 18. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein when the second shape iscompleted, the at least one processor causes the output signal to beginto build a new second graphic shape.
 19. The apparatus of claim 16wherein the at least one processor generates the output signal todisplay individual leaders and class total relative to a goal after apredetermined period of time.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein theat least one processor causes the output signal to display on thedisplay device an abstract animation that varies in response to at leasttwo of the plural exercise signals.
 21. The apparatus of claim 1wherein: the at least one processor generates the output signal todisplay a graphic shape for each piece of equipment and/or sensingsystem; the at least one processor generates the output signal to causeeach graphic shape to change appearance based on at least one of theexercise signals for a corresponding piece of equipment and/or sensingsystem; and the at least one processor generates the output signal tocause each graphic shape to move a distance corresponding to at leastone of the exercise signals for the corresponding piece of equipmentand/or sensing system.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein: the piecesof exercise equipment includes stationary bicycles; and the at least oneprocessor generates the output signal to cause the graphic shape toincrease in intensity and move in response to the exercise signalcorresponding to power.
 23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the atleast one processor generates the output signal to display the graphicshape during a plurality of periods alternating with periods in whichthe at least one processor generates the output signal to create adisplay that varies with at least one exercise signal collectively overall pieces of equipment and/or sensing systems.
 24. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein: the pieces of equipment or persons in the class aregrouped; and the at least one processor generates the output signal todisplay a graphic shape which moves along a path, the appearance of thegraphic shape changing based on one of the exercise signals and adistance which the graphic shape moves along the path is responsive toanother of the exercise signals, and each piece of equipment or personof each group controls the graphic shape for different periods.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 24 wherein: the pieces of equipment includestationary bicycles; the one exercise signal is representative of power;and the another exercise signal is representative of distance.
 26. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein: the pieces of equipment or persons in theclass are divided into two or more teams; and wherein the at least oneprocessor generates the output signal to cause the at least one displaydevice to display an image where horizontal positioning of the image isdependent on at least one exercise signal accumulated over each of thetwo or more teams.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein: the pieces ofequipment include stationary bicycles; and the at least one exercisesignal corresponds to power.
 28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein aftera predetermined time, the at least one processor generates the outputsignal to cause the display device to display a user on each teamgenerating the highest average power over the predetermined time. 29.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one processor generatesthe output signal to cause the display device to display an animationincluding a graphical shape for each piece of equipment and/or sensingsystem, each graphical shape moving along a path in response to at leastone of the exercise signals for each piece of equipment and/or sensingsystem, the at least one processor generating the output signal to causethe animation to include upper and lower boundaries along the path for auser to keep the graphic shape corresponding to the user's piece ofequipment and/or sensing system between the boundaries.
 30. Theapparatus of claim 29 wherein the at least one processor generates theoutput signal to cause the animation to move the boundaries after apredetermined time.
 31. The apparatus of claim 29 wherein the at leastone processor generates the output signal to cause the animation tochange an appearance of each graphical shape based on at least one otherexercise signal from the corresponding piece of equipment and/or sensingsystem.
 32. The apparatus of claim 29 wherein: the pieces of equipmentinclude stationary bicycles; and the at least one exercise signalcorresponds to rotational rate.
 33. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein:the pieces of equipment include stationary bicycles; and the at leastone other exercise signal corresponds to power.
 34. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the at least one processor generates the output signalto cause the animation to provide at least three games wherein in afirst game, the animation illustrates an individual effort of each user,in a second game, the animation illustrates both the individual effortof each user and an effort of a group of users, and in a third game, theanimation illustrates the effort of a group of users withoutillustrating individual effort.
 35. The apparatus of claim 1 furthercomprising a second device associated with an individual member andcoupled to the at least one processor, the second device beingconstructed and arranged to display individual information concerningthe member.
 36. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein the second deviceincludes a module to enable a member to register for a class.
 37. Theapparatus of claim 35 wherein the second device receives data from theat least one processor and not directly from the exercise equipmentand/or sensing systems.
 38. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein theindividual information includes cumulative data for the individualmember over a class.
 39. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein theindividual information includes data comparing the individual member tothe overall class.
 40. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein the seconddevice is removable from the exercise equipment by the member.
 41. Amethod of communicating the results of an exercise class in a graphicform comprising: a computer system receiving a plurality of exercisesignals from each of a plurality of pieces of exercise equipment and/orsensing systems relating to exercise performance on each piece ofequipment and/or person with the sensing system and storing the exercisesignals in at least one electronic storage device included in thecomputer system; at least one processor included in the computer systemgenerating an output signal containing an animation of at least two ofthe exercise signals from each of the pieces of equipment or sensingsystems; and generating a display on at least one display device visiblefrom each of the pieces of equipment or people in the class from theoutput signal including the animation.
 42. The method of claim 41wherein the pieces of exercise equipment include a plurality ofstationary bicycles.
 43. The method of claim 42 wherein the pluralexercise signals include signals representing two or more of revolutionrate, distance, power and energy.
 44. The method of claim 43 wherein theexercise signal related to distance represents a combination of rotationrate and power.
 45. The method of claim 41 wherein: the at least oneprocessor generates the output signal to define a graphic shape for eachof the pieces of equipment and/or sensing systems; and the at least oneprocessor causes each graphic shape to spin at a rate related to one ofthe exercise signals for a corresponding piece of equipment and/orsensing system and move along a path based on another of the exercisesignals from the corresponding piece of equipment and/or sensing system.46. The method of claim 45 wherein: the one exercise signal indicatesrevolution rate or speed of the exercise equipment and/or sensingsystem; and the other exercise signal corresponds to distance of thecorresponding piece of exercise equipment and/or sensing system.
 47. Themethod of claim 45 wherein the thickness of a line forming the graphicshape corresponds to a third one of the exercise signals.
 48. The methodof claim 47 wherein the third exercise signal corresponds to power. 49.The method of claim 44 wherein the at least one processor causes thegraphic shape to change color when a person exercising on acorresponding piece of exercise equipment and/or having the sensingsystem is on track to at least match a distance from a previous session.50. The method of claim 44 wherein the at least one processor causes theoutput signal to produce a display indicating top performers after apredetermined time.
 51. The method of claim 41 wherein: each piece ofequipment and/or person in the class is organized in one of two or moreteams; the at least one processor generates the output signal to includea first graphic shape for each of the pieces of equipment and/or sensingsystems; and the at least one processor generates the output signal sothat the first graphic shape drops into a second graphic shape for acorresponding team when at least one exercise signal for a user achievesa predetermined value.
 52. The method of claim 51 wherein the pieces ofequipment are stationary bicycles and the at least one exercise signalcorresponds to distance of the corresponding bicycle.
 53. The method ofclaim 51 wherein the at least one processor generates the output signalso that when the second graphic shape is completed, the at least oneprocessor generates the output signal to cause another second graphicshape to be built from dropping first graph shapes.
 54. The method ofclaim 51 wherein the first graphic shape rotates in response to a secondone of the exercise signals and the thickness of a line forming thefirst graphic shape corresponds to a third one of the exercise signals.55. The method of claim 54 wherein: the pieces of equipment include aplurality of stationary bicycles; and the second exercise signalcorresponds to rotational rate of the corresponding bicycle and thethird exercise signal corresponds to power from the correspondingbicycle.
 56. The method of claim 41 wherein: each piece of equipmentand/or person in the class is organized into one of two or more teams;the at least one processor generates the output signal to display afirst graphic shape which rotates based on an average or a total of oneof the plurality of exercise signals from each team; and the at leastone processor generates the output signal to cause a second graphicshape to build in response to an average or total of another of theexercise signals for each team.
 57. The method of claim 56 wherein: thepieces of exercise equipment include stationary bicycles; and the oneexercise signal corresponds to power; and the another exercise signalcorresponds to distance.
 58. The method of claim 56 wherein when thesecond shape is completed, the at least one processor causes the outputsignal to begin to build a new second graphic shape.
 59. The method ofclaim 56 wherein the at least one processor generates the output signalto display individual leaders and class total relative to a goal after apredetermined period of time.
 60. The method of claim 41 wherein the atleast one processor causes the output signal to display on the displaydevice an abstract animation that varies in response to at least two ofthe plural exercise signals.
 61. The method of claim 41 wherein: the atleast one processor generates the output signal to display a graphicshape for each piece of equipment and/or sensing system; the at leastone processor generates the output signal to cause each graphic shape tochange appearance based on at least one of the exercise signals for acorresponding piece of equipment and/or sensing system; and the at leastone processor generates the output signal to cause each graphic shape tomove a distance corresponding to at least one of the exercise signalsfor the corresponding piece of equipment and/or sensing system.
 62. Themethod of claim 61 wherein: the pieces of exercise equipment includestationary bicycles; and the at least one processor generates the outputsignal to cause the graphic shape to increase in intensity and move inresponse to the exercise signal corresponding to power.
 63. The methodof claim 61 wherein the at least one processor generates the outputsignal to display the graphic shape during a plurality of periodsalternating with periods in which the at least one processor generatesthe output signal to create a display that varies with at least oneexercise signal collectively over all pieces of equipment and/or sensingsystems.
 64. The method of claim 41 wherein: the pieces of equipment orpersons in the class are grouped; and the at least one processorgenerates the output signal to display a graphic shape which moves alonga path, the appearance of the graphic shape changing based on one of theexercise signals and a distance which the graphic shape moves along thepath is responsive to another of the exercise signals, and each piece ofequipment and/or sensing system of each group controls the graphic shapefor different periods.
 65. The method of claim 64 wherein: the pieces ofequipment include stationary bicycles; the one exercise signal isrepresentative of power; and the another exercise signal isrepresentative of distance.
 66. The method of claim 41 wherein: thepieces of equipment or persons in the class are divided into two or moreteams; and wherein the at least one processor generates the outputsignal to cause the at least one display device to display an imagewhere horizontal positioning of the image is dependent on at least oneexercise signal accumulated over each of the two or more teams.
 67. Themethod of claim 66 wherein: the pieces of equipment include stationarybicycles; and the at least one exercise signal corresponds to power. 68.The method of claim 67 wherein after a predetermined time, the at leastone processor generates the output signal to cause the display device todisplay a user on each team generating the highest average power overthe predetermined time.
 69. The method of claim 68 wherein the at leastone processor generates the output signal to cause the display device todisplay an animation including a graphical shape for each piece ofequipment and/or sensing system, each graphical shape moving along apath in response to at least one of the exercise signals for each pieceof equipment and/or sensing system, the at least one processorgenerating the output signal to cause the animation to include upper andlower boundaries along the path for a user to keep the graphic shapecorresponding to the user's piece of equipment and/or sensing systembetween the boundaries.
 70. The method of claim 69 wherein the at leastone processor generates the output signal to cause the animation to movethe boundaries after a predetermined time.
 71. The method of claim 69wherein the at least one processor generates the output signal to causethe animation to change an appearance of each graphical shape based onat least one other exercise signal from the corresponding piece ofequipment and/or sensing system.
 72. The method of claim 69 wherein: thepieces of equipment include stationary bicycles; and the at least oneexercise signal corresponds to rotational rate.
 73. The method of claim71 wherein: the pieces of equipment include stationary bicycles; and theat least one other exercise signal corresponds to power.
 74. The methodof claim 68 wherein the at least one processor generates the outputsignal to cause the animation to provide at least three games wherein ina first game, the animation illustrates an individual effort of eachuser, in a second came, the animation illustrates both the individualeffort of each user and an effort of a group of users, and in a thirdgame, the animation illustrates the effort of a group of users withoutillustrating individual effort.
 75. The method of claim 41 furthercomprising generating a display on a second device of individualinformation concerning a member.
 76. The method of claim 75 furthercomprising the second device accepting data from a member to registerthe member for a class.
 77. The method of claim 75 further comprisingthe second device receiving data from the at least one processor and notdirectly from the exercise equipment and/or sensing systems.
 78. Themethod of claim 75 wherein the individual information includescumulative data for the individual member over a class.
 79. The methodof claim 78 wherein the individual information includes data comparingthe individual member to the overall class.
 80. The method of claim 75further comprising the member removing the second device from theexercise equipment.
 81. Exercise class apparatus comprising: a pluralityof pieces of exercise equipment and/or sensing systems, each piece ofequipment and/or sensing system outputting plural exercise signalsrelating to exercise performance on the piece of equipment; a computersystem including: at least one electronic storage device which storesthe plural signals from the pieces of equipment and/or sensing systems;and at least one processor which generates an output signal containingan animation for each of at least two games, each animationcorresponding to at least one of the exercise signals from the pieces ofequipment and/or sensing system, wherein the animation for one of the atleast two games illustrates either individual effort of each user, boththe individual effort of each user and an effort of a group of users, orthe effort of a group of users without illustrating individual effort,and the animation for the other of the at least two games illustrates adifferent one of individual effort of each user, both the individualeffort of each user and an effort of a group of users, or the effort ofa group of users without illustrating individual effort; and at leastone display device, visible from each of the pieces of equipment, whichreceives the output signal and displays the animation.
 82. A method ofcommunicating the results of an exercise class in a graphic formcomprising: a computer system receiving a plurality of exercise signalsfrom a plurality of pieces of exercise equipment and/or sensing systemsrelating to exercise performance on the piece of equipment; at least oneprocessor generating an output signal containing an animation for eachof at least two games, each animation corresponding to at least one ofthe exercise signals from the pieces of equipment and/or sensing system,wherein the animation for one of the at least two games illustrateseither individual effort of each user, both the individual effort ofeach user and an effort of a group of users, or the effort of a group ofusers without illustrating individual effort, and the animation for theother of the at least two games illustrates a different one ofindividual effort of each user, both the individual effort of each userand an effort of a group of users, or the effort of a group of userswithout illustrating individual effort; and generating a display on atleast one display device, which is visible from each of the pieces ofequipment, including the animation.
 83. Exercise class apparatuscomprising: a plurality of pieces of exercise equipment and/or sensingsystems, each piece of equipment and/or sensing system outputting pluralexercise signals relating to exercise performance on the piece ofequipment or by a person in the class; a computer system including: atleast one electronic storage device which stores the plural signals fromthe pieces of equipment and/or sensing systems; and at least oneprocessor which receives a signal indicating a selected one of aplurality of fitness goals and generates an output signal containing ananimation corresponding to at least one of the exercise signals from thepieces of equipment and/or sensing systems which motivates users towardthe selected fitness goal; and at least one display device, visible fromeach of the pieces of equipment, which receives the output signal anddisplays the animation.
 84. A method of communicating the results of anexercise class in a graphic form comprising: a computer system receivinga plurality of exercise signals from each of a plurality of pieces ofexercise equipment and/or sensing systems relating to exerciseperformance on the piece of equipment or by a person in the class; atleast one processor included in the computer system receiving a signalindicating a selected one of a plurality of fitness goals and generatesan output signal containing an animation corresponding to at least oneof the exercise signals from the pieces of equipment and/or sensingsystems which motivates users toward the selected fitness goal; andgenerating a display on at least one display device, visible from eachof the pieces of equipment or persons in the class including theanimation.